100% efficient and zero emissions around your property, electricity heats your home the cleaner, modern way. Enjoy heating powered with renewables to keep you warm when you need it.
Carbon savings
Electric home heating is powered with renewables, meaning a large portion of the heating you enjoy is powered using hydro, wind and solar energy.
Comparing the carbon intensity of electricity, oil, and gas, a recent Guernsey study found electricity generates up to 75% less carbon emissions. This figure takes into account electricity generated at the Vale power station and our island’s imported renewable energy.
That means an average family could prevent around 3-5 tonnes of carbon from entering the atmosphere each year simply by switching to electric.
And to make that carbon saving go even further, why not consider investing in home insulation. Keeping the heat in means spending less money and less contribution to global warming.
Energy saving
Unlike fossil-fuel systems which are around 91% efficient at new, electric heating is practically 100% efficient.
Year on year, gas and oil heating systems become less and less efficient, costing more to run. Electric heating systems are different as the energy you need to heat your home – electricity – arrives ready-to-use, meaning nothing needs to be burnt to produce heat. This means it will stay 100% efficient throughout its lifetime and produce no greenhouse gas emissions from your property.
- Superior lifetime efficiency
- No wasted energy
- No more paying for greenhouse gas emissions from your property
Minimise your heat loss
Ever wondered why an old house is colder than a modern house?
A heating system is used to replace the heat lost through the fabric of your property such as walls, windows and roofs. Investing in insultation will reduce your electricity bill and your carbon emissions significantly
Service upgrades
It’s really important to plan ahead and check if your property needs a service upgrade.
Electricity is delivered to your door through an underground network of cables. Some properties don’t have enough capacity in the existing service cable to supply a new heating system and will likely need a supply line cable upgrade.
Your installer will find out if you need a new supply line cable as part of an “additional load” application sent to Guernsey Electricity.
Correct size boiler
One size does not fit all. You may need a smaller boiler heat output than your current oil or gas boiler.
A heat loss calculation will tell your installer how large your boiler needs to be. Any bigger, and your boiler will place unnecessary demands on the electricity network which has implications for other customers wanting to switch to low-carbon heating.
A larger boiler will make no difference to you, it will only ever replace the amount of heat your property actually loses. And if you choose to insulate your property, you’ll pay for even less electricity to heat your home.
How much will it cost to run heating in Guernsey?
Use your current gas or oil bill to find out how much your heating could cost to run using an electric system or an air source heat pump.
How long will it take to install?
If you’re thinking about making the switch to electric heating, it’s best to get in touch with your preferred installer for a quotation as early as possible. As with a house extension or roof replacement, it takes time but is worthwhile.
This is because your property may need a service upgrade. This is when the mains cable serving your property gets upgraded to give you access to the power needed to support your modern heating system.
Installation time depends on the type of system you need – for example, a whole house system versus installing a panel radiator in a room.
An average installation takes around 8-12 weeks including installer lead time. Bearing in mind the installation may take longer if a service upgrade is required.
Spring and summer are the best times to have your new heating system installed as you won’t need your heating on.
Is there a special tariff for electric heating customers?
Yes, depending on the type of heating system you choose.
Electric panel heaters, electric boilers and underfloor heating.
The Superheat tariff is available 24-hours a day.
Hot water cylinders and towel rails may also be connected to Superheat if the primary heat source in the property is electric and connected to Superheat.
You will need a separate ‘Superheat meter’ installed and your installer should apply for this by submitting an Additional Load application to Guernsey Electricity. Installers should automatically do this for you, however it’s worth making sure this gets done to achieve the best running costs.
Storage heaters
The Super Economy 12 tariff.
Your storage heaters will heat up during the overnight ‘off-peak’ times which have been set up for your property.
You can also heat your hot water cylinder using your low-rate times.
The most cost-effective way to heat water cylinders is by connecting them to your Economy 12 electricity supply via a timer and heat the water between 11pm and 5am.
If you’re using an Economy 12 supply for lighting, powering and heating your home, with the exception of storage heaters, it is worth asking your electrician to quote to move the heating from Economy 12 to Superheat metering, as this is a low-rate available 24/7 exclusively for electric heating. This may involve adjustments to your existing electrical circuits as the heating circuits may need to be separated to benefit from the Superheat tariff.
Air source heat pumps
The Heat Pump Tariff is set up specifically for air source heat pump customers.
How much will it cost to install electric heating?
It’s always best to get two quotes for a big investment in your property.
Replacing your gas or oil boiler with electric connected to your existing radiators or wet underfloor heating system is likely to cost roughly £5000.
However, this is just a guide price and your heating installer will give you an exact price according to the size of your property, components required, and amount of labour.
Thinking about switching to electric heating?
It pays to plan ahead. Electrical installations are an investment and can take time to complete. Contact your preferred installer as early as possible to find out what you need to do.